Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.

²And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:

³“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.

⁴And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

⁵Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil.

⁶And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.

⁸And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

⁹And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

¹⁰And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

¹¹And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,

¹² so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”

¹³And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

¹⁴ The sower sows the word.

¹⁵And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

¹⁶And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.

¹⁷And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

¹⁸And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,

¹⁹but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

²⁰But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

²¹And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?

²² For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.

²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

²⁴And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.

²⁵ For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

²⁶And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.

²⁷He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.

²⁸The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

³⁰And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?

³¹It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,

³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

³³With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.

³⁴He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

³⁵On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”

³⁶And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.

³⁷And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.

³⁸But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

³⁹And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

⁴⁰He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

⁴¹And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name: I am the LORD.

³Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD.

⁴None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a discharge may eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or a man who has had an emission of semen,

⁵and whoever touches a swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or a person from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be —

⁶the person who touches such a thing shall be unclean until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has bathed his body in water.

⁷When the sun goes down he shall be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because they are his food.

⁸He shall not eat what dies of itself or is torn by beasts, and so make himself unclean by it: I am the LORD.’

⁹They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

¹⁰“A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired worker shall eat of a holy thing,

¹¹but if a priest buys a slave as his property for money, the slave may eat of it, and anyone born in his house may eat of his food.

¹²If a priest's daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things.

¹³But if a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced and has no child and returns to her father's house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food; yet no lay person shall eat of it.

¹⁴And if anyone eats of a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add the fifth of its value to it and give the holy thing to the priest.

¹⁵They shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, which they contribute to the LORD,

¹⁶and so cause them to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”

¹⁷And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁸“Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to the LORD,

¹⁹if it is to be accepted for you it shall be a male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats.

²⁰You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you.

²¹And when anyone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it.

²²Animals blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs you shall not offer to the LORD or give them to the LORD as a food offering on the altar.

²³You may present a bull or a lamb that has a part too long or too short for a freewill offering, but for a vow offering it cannot be accepted.

²⁴Any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut you shall not offer to the LORD; you shall not do it within your land,

²⁵neither shall you offer as the bread of your God any such animals gotten from a foreigner. Since there is a blemish in them, because of their mutilation, they will not be accepted for you.”

²⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁷“When an ox or sheep or goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as a food offering to the LORD.

²⁸But you shall not kill an ox or a sheep and her young in one day.

²⁹And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.

³⁰It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until morning: I am the LORD.

³¹“So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the LORD.

³²And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you,

³³who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD.”

¹Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

²Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

³At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison —

⁴that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

⁵Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

⁷Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.

⁸I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts,

⁹and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

¹⁰Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions — if he comes to you, welcome him),

¹¹and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

¹²Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

¹³For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.

¹⁴Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.

¹⁵Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

¹⁶And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

¹⁷And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”

¹⁸I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

²By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

⁴Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

⁵They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.

⁶We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

⁸Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

⁹In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

¹⁰In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

¹³By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

¹⁶So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

¹⁷By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

¹⁹We love because he first loved us.

²⁰If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

²¹And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

¹But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him.

²It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.

³This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

⁴But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.

⁶Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.

⁷Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.

⁸Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.

⁹Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.

¹⁰Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

¹¹Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

¹²For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.

¹³I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.

¹⁴There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it.

¹⁵But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

¹⁶But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.

¹⁷The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

¹Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!

²Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!

³Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!

⁴For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

⁵Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.

⁶Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,

⁷to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples,

⁸to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron,

⁹to execute on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the LORD!

¹Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

²The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life.

³It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.

⁴The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

⁵The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.

⁶Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?

⁷The righteous who walks in his integrity — blessed are his children after him!

⁸A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes.

⁹Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”?

¹⁰Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

¹¹Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.

¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made them both.

¹³Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

¹⁴“Bad, bad,” says the buyer, but when he goes away, then he boasts.

¹⁵There is gold and abundance of costly stones, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

¹⁶Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.

¹⁷Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.

¹⁸Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war.

¹⁹Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

²⁰If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

²¹An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.

²²Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.

²³Unequal weights are an abomination to the LORD, and false scales are not good.

²⁴A man's steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?

²⁵It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,” and to reflect only after making vows.

²⁶A wise king winnows the wicked and drives the wheel over them.

²⁷The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts.

²⁸Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

³⁰Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts.

¹There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite.

²He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the LORD.

⁴On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters.

⁵But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb.

⁶And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb.

⁷So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat.

⁸And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

⁹After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.

¹⁰She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.

¹¹And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

¹²As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth.

¹³Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman.

¹⁴And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.”

¹⁵But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD.

¹⁶Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.”

¹⁷Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.”

¹⁸And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

¹⁹They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.

²⁰And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the LORD.”

²¹The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow.

²²But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the LORD and dwell there forever.”

²³Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the LORD establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him.

²⁴And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And the child was young.

²⁵Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli.

²⁶And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the LORD.

²⁷For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him.

²⁸Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.

¹Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.

²He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away.

³And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

⁴But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God.”

⁵And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him — for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength —

⁶he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

⁷Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

⁸Thus says the LORD: “In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages,

⁹saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’ They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture;

¹⁰they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.

¹¹And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up.

¹²Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene.”

¹³Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.

¹⁴But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.

¹⁶Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

¹⁷Your builders make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.

¹⁸Lift up your eyes around and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, declares the LORD, you shall put them all on as an ornament; you shall bind them on as a bride does.

¹⁹“Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land — surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

²⁰The children of your bereavement will yet say in your ears: ‘The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.’

²¹Then you will say in your heart: ‘Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?’”

²²Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.

²³Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”

²⁴Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?

²⁵For thus says the LORD: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.

²⁶I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

¹And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.

²And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.”

⁴And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”

⁵On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

⁸And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

¹¹And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,

¹²so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

¹³Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

¹⁴Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.

¹⁵But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”

¹⁶And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.

¹⁸Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.

¹⁹And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

²¹Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

²²And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

²³About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.

²⁴For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen.

²⁵These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth.

²⁶And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods.

²⁷And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel.

³⁰But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him.

³¹And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater.

³²Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.

³³Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd.

³⁴But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?

³⁶Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash.

³⁷For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

³⁹But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly.

⁴⁰For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.”

⁴¹And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.